Jeff Lear

The photograph appears to be the victim of a "free" instagram filter.  I applaud the effort to create something different but it has, unfortunately, not worked.  The expression is adorable but there's something awkward about her interaction with the foliage, made worse by the editing on the right side of her head which looks, as Fred pointed out, cut and pasted.  It almost looks like a collage you would see hanging on the wall of a teenaged girl's room where she cut parts from a fashion magazine and pasted them to a backdrop.  Additionally, there is simply too much foliage, it overwhelms the subject.  Some judicious cropping might help.

The photo is not without its appeal or potential... Keep going!

Built in 1900 and abandoned since 1945, this house once belonged to a

courageous and headstrong woman who refused to sell her property to

the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power when they were

attempting to purchase all of the land in the area in order to obtain

the water rights that came with the property (so that they could

divert that water to the burgeoning metropolis of Los Angeles). I've

always thought the place looked kind of spooky but if you throw a few

lights inside and paint the landscape with light, it's not so bad.

This is my first attempt at something like this so I'm curious to hear

your opinions, thoughts, suggestions, disdain, joy or ambivalence

regarding the outcome. It can be viewed larger and that would

probably be better. Thanks for taking the time to have a look, thanks

even more if you write something!

I agree that the arm and hand positioning is awkward, the whole left side of the photograph is awkward and it draws my attention from the gaze of the model.  Speaking of the gaze, while her eyes appear heavily processed to bring out detail, no amount of processing (short of cloning) can disguise the fact that they are not in focus.

There are certainly elements that I find appealing.  The tone is superb and well balanced, the model is attractive (irrelevant), and I love the eye contact with the photographer.  She seems very comfortable being photographed which is a testament to the model/photographer relationship but none of these things manage to prevent my attention from drifting to the left side of the frame and all those peculiar angles and truncated parts.

This is so cliché.  I mean if I had a dollar for every time I saw a zebra in an abandoned gymnasium, well...

Despite all that, I love it!  Your PS work is seamless and flawless even in the larger view.  The old gym would have been an interesting enough subject but you went the extra mile and brought your Zebra to the shoot and that was a stroke of whimsical genius.  I wonder if you could expand on your thought process in creating this?

It's as if this were captured through the spinning windows of a zoetrope.  I love the intimate moment captured in all the rush and chaos of the city.  These moments exist everywhere but we rarely take the time to notice.  You did.

Thank you Thomas and Starke ("Thomas & Starke", sounds like a TV show or a law firm, LOL).  The power of this swell was like nothing I'd ever experienced, from the shore you could feel the thunderous concussion of the waves as they crashed.  It filled the air with a salty mist that hung like fog as wave after wave came ashore with relentless predictability.  Surfers, body boarders, and body surfers scurried around like floating ants searching for the best trajectory to either ride or avoid being pummeled by this awesome power.  It was great fun to witness and document.

That's just spectacular.  I love the clever positioning of Polaris in what appears to be the open mouth of Mercury.  The light painting is masterfully executed, creating a well exposed foreground that contrasts perfectly with the spinning universe beyond.  I will repeat, this is spectacular.

I believe that's actually an aircraft of some sort that flew through the scene during the 30 second exposure, Mike.  In the large view you can see that the line appears as a series of long dashes, like strobing marker lights.

This photograph is at once haunting and comforting.  I particularly like your composition, the way the rock outcropping seems to grow out of the bottom of your frame.  Well done, Matt.

I've seen this car.  There is a nozzle located in the center (rear) that dumps a white-ish liquid on the road behind.  Very James Bird errr, Bond.

Great photo of a historic car, Sanford.

Pay attention, Joe.  This was shot with a crop sensor camera at 400mm (640mm equivalent).  The raptor was clearly perched on top of a utility pole with it's prey and wasn't "approached" by the photographer.

Great shot, Hector.  I couldn't help notice this was captured in Culver City.  Urban nature is so fascinating, it makes you realize that despite our best attempts to eradicate them, the wild things will always exist and will continue to exist long after we're gone.

I like the mixed lighting, your creativeness with natural and artificial light stands out throughout your portfolio.  My only criticisms are that the background appears a little under-exposed and the shadow cast by your strobe seems out of place given the direction of natural light.  I might have set the strobe up a bit lower to avoid this... or cloned the shadow.

I believe this to be a Figeater Beetle (Cotinis mutabilis) and a nicely captured one at that.

Hey Tony, beautiful image that resonates with me.  I've stood in the cold, the smell of fermenting aspen leaves carried on the breeze, your photograph brings all those senses back and I imagine you experienced the same standing on that bluff overlooking that golden valley.  I really like the diversity in clouds from the light fog clinging to the ground to the more ominous, darker clouds gathering over the mountain tops, all contrasted against the rugged mountains and radiant fall color.  It's too bad the lone nacreous/polar stratospheric cloud couldn't have drifted into the frame formed by the darker storm clouds but what can you do?

Thanks Ruud and Drew!  Unlike most of the things I photograph, which involve lots of preparation and setup, I took this one out the window of my car while waiting at a traffic light.  I just thought the old Caddy looked sinister lurking there in the alley.  Glad you like it.

Александр, похоже, что г-н Soulnier сегодня плохой день. Он оставил комментарий, что же на 30 других изображений в течение последних двух дней. Ваше фото очень хорошо и интересно. Я надеюсь, что Google перевел это правильно... Я также надеюсь, вы говорите на русском.

I was getting ready to agree with everybody regarding the tilt (although I think it bothers me less than others) but eventually came to your most recent edit and that is absolutely splendid and makes me really dislike the tilty version.  Your lighting is creative and it sets her off from the gritty but nicely blurred backdrop.  In your original, I felt a little claustrophobic, her guitar resting so close to the edge of the photo but in this edit there is room.  I cannot muster a single criticism of this update and the square crop will work well for a CD cover or online cover art.

Thank you so much everyone for your wonderful contributions.  I haven't revisited this photo in awhile and was surprised to see that it has become one of the most viewed photos in my portfolio.  I'm not surprised because I think it's a mediocre shot, on the contrary, I'm surprised because I actually like this one and, being a horrible judge of my own work, the ones I like typically don't resonate with others.

Stephen, knowing that you would likely make the same decisions is rewarding.  It's never been my intention to necessarily emulate any particular style but I have drawn inspiration from your portfolio on more than one occasion.

Chris, thanks again for pointing out my shadow rendering oversight.

Shenandoah, I really appreciate your kind words. I've rendered the sky a bit darker than it probably appeared in reality but the contrast between the light grass and dark clouds was quite dramatic and the photo I took fell a little short of conveying that. I just helped it along.

Fred, that was a wonderful critique (as usual).  You seem to have grasped the mood I'd hoped to create with light, shape, and texture.

Marie H, I can't blame anyone for envying this place.  I have spent many years wandering this lake shore and the mountains that surround it.  It is my personal heaven.

Bela, I have tried this in B&W however I haven't devoted the time it deserves.  I will make another attempt, for sure.  I appreciate that you've taken the time to leave your thoughts.

...and finally, Dan.  Thanks for recognizing in this the elements I'd hoped would have an impact.  I do wish I were always inspiring but suspect it's just sometimes, when I'm not really trying.

That's pretty.  I'd love to offer an in-depth critique but it would be unbalanced because I really don't have anything negative to say.  I like the warm, golden glow, I like the authenticity lent by the delicate webs and bug(?) and I love the soft bokeh which forms the perfect backdrop for the prickly poppy stems.

I played around with your photo a little.  One, to demonstrate how easily the obtrusive copyright information can be removed (took about two minutes) and two, to offer an example of how you might consider including all of the same information in a way that doesn't ruin your photograph.  All of the information is there, ©2013 Dhruba K Sapkota along with your web info but it's far less distracting.

I understand the desire to protect your images from internet pilferage but this isn't even a watermark, it's just typing, largely advertising, typed right in the middle of your photograph.  This isn't good practice and there are far more graceful ways of protecting your photography.  Advertising (your web address) typically goes on the mat with your copyright information subtly placed in an inconspicuous location within the photograph.

It's a cool photograph.  The passing clouds add drama and the sun which, itself, really punctuates an otherwise colorless world.  You timed this well to capture the single bird directly in front of the sun but it would have been better if the bird were in focus.  Because it's not, I think the image would work better without it.

I agree, Cara.  Fred summed it up far more eloquently than I could have.  The glow of love radiates throughout the frame as it should through life.  Nicely done, Drew!!!

Agree with Jatinder, you've succeeded.  I'd love to critique but the simplicity of your (artistic) photograph doesn't really lend itself to that.  That's not a dig, it's simply attractive, can't say much more than that.

*ponderings, not podnerings, that doesn't even make sense.

It was cloudy for the big 2012 Supermoon but not this year. The

exposure details are: 1/640th second, f/11, ISO 200. Your thoughts,

opinions, or podnerings are welcome. It's the Supermoon so, of

course, you can click to make it bigger.

Your horizon is perfectly straight, your exposure is just right, the subject is interesting.  My only recommendation would be to crop the top 5th of sky so that the vast expanse of clouds aren't competing for the viewer's attention.  The wider aspect ratio will add drama to the skyline with the clouds playing a supporting role.  This will place your horizon pretty close to the center of the frame but rules are made to be broken.  I think you should break one.